Agnes Hildebrandt (nee Hildebrandt)
Obituary
A story shared in loving memory of a dear Mother, Grandmother and Great Grandmother. Agnes (aka Nettie) was born on May 20, 1924 in Halbstadt, Manitoba in the R.M. of Rhineland, born to Jacob E. Hildebrandt (January 11, 1900 – December 3, 1952) and Katherina Hildebrandt (May 20, 1903 – May 22, 1992). Mom being the oldest daughter in a large family developed skills as a caregiver and caretaker from an early age.
On December 17, 1944 she married Diedrich Hildebrandt (September 11, 1923 – November 25, 1974). A year or so after their marriage they moved to their homestead, on the NW 1/4 of Sec 32- 2-6E in the R.M. of Stuartburn. From that point forward Mom and Dad worked together to raise their family and manage and develop the family farm. In the early years, Mom primarily looked after the farm and children and Dad worked for Manitoba Pool Elevators to support the household. At some point along the way we began to refer to the homestead as “The Farm” and continue to do so today.
Ten children resulted from their union, Bob (November 29, 1945 – March 10, 2011); Bertha (Jake, Dawn, Denise (Kurt, Tyrus and Colter)); Willie (Donna, Rebecca, Brandie (Bethany), Matthew (Amber, Lucas, Katelyn)); Danny (Bev, Craig, Samboun, Curtis, Jeremy); Barb (Alex (1950 – 2012), Carrie (Garrett, Linden, Deklynn); Peter (Monica (Clint, Dylan, Alisah), Steven (Savannah, Reid, Raylene, Cairo), Jessie); Fred (Diane, Desiree (Matt, Dallas, Hudson, Lily and Hazel), Dustin); Betty; David (Jeanne, Bryer, Brock); Brenda (Al).
After Dad’s death at the age of 51, Mom soldiered on, reinventing herself to meet the changing needs of her economic circumstance and raising the four children left at home. It was a struggle to be sure, but as always Mom brought to bear her force of will and strong work ethic and made the best of things.
Mom continued to run the farm, however after struggling to make ends meet after Dad’s death, Mom decided to go “out to work” and got a job at the St. Malo sewing factory, where she worked until she retired at age 65. After retirement Mom embraced the things she always enjoyed, but with extra zeal (had more time on her hands) such as sewing, knitting, crocheting, quilting, gardening and doing some volunteer work. Mom was a volunteer worker at the Grunthal Self Help, was an active member of the Stuartburn Ladies Sewing Circle and helped at Roseau River Park preparing perogies and noodles etc. for upcoming events. You could always count on Mom to help out at and /or run the kitchen when preparing a wedding feast. Mom prepared countless meals for wedding receptions and parties over the years. Mom always made a point to put together a feast at Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving, where the entire family was expected to show up and “EAT”. We all likely recall hearing Mom’s lament after a family gathering that there were too many leftovers. She would say something like “I don’t know why nobody eats anymore”. It never occurred to her that she kept cooking more and more food each year, just so there would be more than enough to go around.
Mom also did a fair bit of home sewing over the years. I am sure that there are many brides in the community who recall Mom either sewing their wedding dress or doing last minute alterations on their wedding dress. Mom often served as a full service bridal shop, sewing the bride’s dress, the bridesmaid dresses, and a suit for the ring bearer and a dress for the flower girl. If her flower garden had an abundance of flowers in bloom and there was a venue to decorate, she would be happy to donate flowers and/or make floral arrangements to spruce up the venue.
Mom and Dad planned to spend their retirement years travelling. Since that didn’t work out as planned, Mom traveled with her children as and when time and opportunity presented itself. Some highlights of Mom’s travels included a road trip out west, to British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Mom took a particular interest in the Banff and Jasper region, given all the stories Dad had told her over the years of his adventures in the camps during the war years. The Buchard gardens in Victoria were of interest to Mom, given that Mom was always planting flowers and creating flower beds in her own yard. In 1996 Mom took her first trip out of Canada by airplane, travelling to Hawaii for a two-week winter vacation. A few years later Mom took a three-week winter vacation to the island of Tenerife off the cost of Spain. In 1992 Mom went on a one-week cruise on the Carnival cruise ship, the Tropicale, with numerous ports of call. A two-week bus trip with her sister and sisters-in-law followed retirement. Mom’s travels also included several trips to Toronto to visit her daughter Brenda, including a summer road trip out east, to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Cape Breton Island.
In spite of a life of hard work and bearing 10 children, Mom was blessed with good health and an abundance of energy all her life. It was not until after she turned 80 that Mom’s age began to catch up with her. After being rushed to the hospital and having emergency hernia surgery in 2007, Mom’s mental health took a noticeable decline. After the passing of her oldest son Bob in 2011, it was no longer possible for Mom to continue to live at The Farm. Although reluctant to do so, Mom agreed to move to an apartment at Shady Oaks, in Vita, MB, where she lived for three years, with Home Care support. After the initial shock of being uprooted faded, she enjoyed living at Shady Oaks and enjoyed participating in the activities as well as attending the Senior Appreciation Program on Thursdays. In February 2014 it was determined that given Mom’s continuing decline in cognitive function it was in her best interest to take up residence in the Vita Personal Care Home. Again, Mom did not appreciate being uprooted, however, as always, she made the best of things. These moves were difficult for Mom, given that she had lived at The Farm for some 65 years and intended to live there until her death. We will always remember and appreciate her being such a trouper, agreeing to the moves and making the best of things. She didn’t really want to move, but when she saw how worked up we were getting, she reluctantly agreed to each move “to make it easier on us”. Mom remained a caregiver and caretaker to the end.
As youngsters, when Dad would hear us complain about Mom, he would always say “one day you will grow up and you will realize what a good mother you have. Your mother is one in a million”. Well Dad, you were right, we are and were blessed to have had a good mother. Mom is definitely by any standard of measure, one in a million. Her kind heart and generous spirit have made all of our lives a little bit brighter and better over these many years.
Mom you have often asked over the last several years “haven’t I done enough, haven’t I worked hard enough, isn’t it time I got to go home”. Yes Mom, the time has come at long last, you can go home. We bid you a fond farewell. Have a safe journey home.
The memorial service will be held Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 2:00 p.m., at Birchwood Funeral Chapel, Steinbach, MB. Ash interment will be at a later date.
In lieu of flowers and cards of condolences, the family asks that you visit a loved one in a personal care home and continue to do so till they are called to their final resting place.
